“Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is a compulsive do-gooder who can’t say no when someone asks for help?even when she knows better. When her estranged friend Karin leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous project yet. Inside the locker is a suitcase, and inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive.

Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy’s are in jeopardy, too. In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is trying to hunt him down.“

All I want to say is thatThey don’t really care about usAll I want to say is thatThey don’t really care about us

Tell me what has become of my lifeI have a wife and two children who love meI am the victim of police brutality, nowI’m tired of bein’ the victim of hateYou’re rapin’ me of my pride oh, for God’s sakeI look to heaven to fulfill its prophecySet me free

All I want to say is thatThey don’t really care about usAll I want to say is thatThey don’t really care about us

Tell me what has become of my rightsAm I invisible because you ignore me?Your proclamation promised me free liberty, nowI’m tired of bein’ the victim of shameThey’re throwing me in a class with a bad nameI can’t believe this is the land from which I cameYou know I do really hate to say itThe government don’t want to seeBut if Roosevelt was livin’He wouldn’t let this be, no, no

The country of Belize lies on the eastern coastline of Central America, below Mexico and next to Guatemala. It is a small, stable country covered with exotic rain forests and some of the longest white sand beaches in the world.

Just off Belize’s 280 kilometer Caribbean coastline is the second largest barrier reef in the world, along with a network of over 200 coral cays and atolls. Tropical Fish of every imaginable populate the placid aquamarine waters off the coast. Gentle Nurse Sharks average 4-6 feet in length and dive masters often feed them small fish. Rays, which have a “wing span” of 2-4 feet, swim directly towards the divers. Tourists will have great delight in the Manatee, Grouper, Snapper and all of the other marine life. Most of the creatures in this area have great tolerance for divers and seem to enjoy human interaction.

Visit the excavated remains of the ancient cities of Altun Ha and Lamanai, which attest to the wealth and sophistication of the Mayans’ glorious past. Near the Guatemalan border, the Cayo region encompasses nature sanctuaries, the majestic Hidden Valley Falls, the lively town of San Ignacio and many splendid Mayan ruins. Some Travelers have claimed to have experienced nirvana from the summit of the main pyramid of Xunantunich, which offers a sweeping vista of the Mopan Valley and Guatemala.

Like most of the Yucatan Peninsula, Belize was part of the Mayan Kingdom from 300 B.C. to 900 A.D. Close by in Belize’s Inland, ruins of the vast Mayan civilization protrude from the depths of the rain forests. Spanish Conquistadors arrived in the 16th Century but were lured away by the immense quantities of gold found in Mexico, making room for the British to move in. Though Belize gained its independence in 1981, English is still the official language and elements of the British culture are still intermingled with those of the Caribbean.

Getting to Belize is easier and faster than traveling to most any other major Caribbean destination. On the mainland, there is plenty to experience and explore in this eco tourism-friendly country – Mayan ruins, the Jaguar Preserve, countless birding expeditions, and world-class scuba diving and snorkeling. But with little effort – a 20-minute plane ride to Ambergris Caye and a 3-mile boat ride – you can bask in beauty and end-of-the-world-style luxury at Cayo Espanto resort.

23-year-old Englishman Tom Allen is all set for a successful career, but he finds himself persisted by the question of our time: isn’t there more to life than this? Leaving it all behind, Tom sets off on the ultimate quest for freedom. For the next 12,000 miles, with neither maps nor guidebooks, Tom films the unfolding of his dream. But the journey takes an unlikely detour when he falls in love with an Iranian-Armenian girl. Filmed over four years with cinematic ambition, Janapar — named after the Armenian word for journey — is an honest and life-affirming tale of finding what you’re looking for when you least expect it.

About Pablo: The founder of one of the leading e-payment platforms in Latin America, Sr. Pago, Vargas was also a founder of EXA Radio & TV, among the most important media outlets for the Latin American youth market. It was during this time that he provided the vision which led to multiple concerts, performances, and music festivals. Working as a production director for the Dish/MVS TV network, Vargas remains a passionate supporter of the Visual and Performing Arts. Among his artistic pursuits, Vargas was the creator of the Mayan Warrior, a multi-media arts vehicle which first visited Burning Man in 2012, and which has returned each of the six years since then. Currently immersed in the Fintech industry, Ilumina is his first work of public sculpture.

Proyectos Actuales/Current Projects

ILUMINA interactive sculpture. Image: Galen Oakes

At Burning Man this year, an interactive art installation by the name of Ilumina took on the playa for the first time and provided an unforgettable experience to anyone who participated. Conceived by Mayan Warrior and Sr. Pago founder Pablo Gonzalez Vargas, the 37-foot tall creation illuminated the Nevada desert and attracted visitors who were drawn to its majestic glow.

The true experience of Ilumina though extended well beyond just a visual experience to gaze upon. With Ilumina, guests are invited to take part in an immersive three-minute long meditation and flow exercise that ushers them into a state of coherence and deep harmony with themselves, fellow participants, and the universe through a proprietary merger of modern technology and ancient design wisdom.

To start, biometric sensors are connected to the earlobes of each participant, which measures their unique state of coherence and averages them together. Ilumina’s dazzling lighting design and moving soundscapes respond to this unique algorithm. As the group becomes more coherent, the sculpture glows brighter and the music swells, creating a shared experience for participants.

The design for Ilumina was inspired by an amalgamation of four key concepts. The first is Torus, which can be seen in the flow of electrons within an atom as well as the shape and flow of the greater universe itself. Next is the fibonacci sequence, which is a simple and elegant ratio that binds nearly all design in the living world, from the human body to leaves on a tree.

The third source of inspiration is a cutting-edge tool provided by the HeartMath Institute, which uses biometrics sensors to train oneself on the self regulation of emotional states to achieve coherence. Lastly, there is Metatron’s Cube, which contains all of the geometric shapes in existence and thus embodies the divinity of all potentials. These four concepts come together to create Ilumina.

“Ilumina was inspired by an experience I had using HeartMath Institute’s feedback software where I found myself in a state of flow,” says Ilumina founder Pablo Gonzalez Vargas. “I was inspired to create a piece for Burning Man that took this concept to a larger scale designed around collective coherence while bringing together the elements of flow, mathematics, and the fundamentals of sacred design.”

Artists that worked alongside Pablo to complete Ilumina included HeartMath Expert & Executive Producer Gaby Vargas, lighting design expert Paolo Montiel, who has worked closely on all of James Turrell’s projects in Mexico, highly experienced musician and performer Mendrix, Mexico-City based art studio Cocolab, renowned painter and sculptor Marco Kalach and many more.

This is the second piece the Pablo has brought to Burning Man, with the first being the multi-media arts vehicle Mayan Warrior. Since its debut in 2012, Mayan Warrior has brought musical performances, elaborate lighting designs, and painting by visionary artist Alex Grey. Mayan Warrior continues to be one of the most popular and dazzling experiences on the playa.

Since Burning Man, Ilumina has experienced a spread well beyond those who experienced its inaugural journey with over 500,000 views and counting on videos uploaded to social media. More news to be announced in the near future regarding next steps for Ilumina.

The National Wet Paint MFA Biennial Exhibition was founded in 2010 by Sergio Gomez. It is an outlook and an overview of top MFA painting programs in the United States. Wet Paint refers to the idea that this is a fresh group of artists. They are MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) candidates and recent MFA recipients working primarily in the medium of painting. Now on its fourth edition this growing and highly competitive juried exhibition will bring to Chicago some of the most talented emerging artists in the country. Wet Paint 2018 is fully funded by the Zhou B Art Center which makes it possible for graduate students to submit works for consideration at no cost. The National Wet Paint MFA Biennial 2018 takes place from January 19 to February 10 in the spacious second floor gallery of the Zhou B Art Center. Wet Paint is juried by the Zhou B Art Center’s selection team and curated by Sergio Gomez, MFA.

Exhibition Dates: January 19 to February 10, 2018
Deadline for Submission: Wednesday, December 8, 2017
Notice of Decline: You will receive an email notice of acceptance or decline no later than December 11. A list of accepted artists will be posted in our website on December 11 (mark your calendars).
Delivery: All accepted work must be received by January 9, 2018

ELIGIBILITY:

Open to all MFA candidates currently enrolled in an MFA program in a US college or university and recent MFA recipients who graduated from 2016 to 2017. Open to all work that incorporates painting and/or the interpretation of painting in traditional or experimental media in 2D, 3D and installation will be accepted for submission. Work must have been completed within the last three years. All work must be ready to install. Artists who have participated in two Wet Paint exhibitions are not eligible to participate.

ZHOU B SPIRIT AWARD:

Two Wet Paint Biennial 2016 artists will be selected by the internationally recognized artist the Zhou Brothers to receive the Zhou B Spirit Award. The award will be presented during the opening reception on January 19th. The award recipients will have the unique opportunity to attend a private reception hosted by the Zhou Brothers in their honor at the Zhou B private studio the day of the opening. The Zhou Brothers are one of the most accomplished contemporary artists in the world today renowned for their unique collaborative work process. They always work together on their paintings, performances, sculptures, and prints, often communicating without words in a so-called dream dialogue. Their thinking, aesthetic, and creativity are a symbiosis of Eastern and Western philosophy, art, and literature that informed their development since early childhood.

Make Music Day (or just “Make Music”) is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21st, the summer solstice.

Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music is a open to anyone who wants to take part. Thousands of amateur musicians play in public spaces, often for their first time. Professional musicians perform for new audiences, who come out from under their headphones to hear unfamiliar groups risk-free. And everyone is invited to sing along and enjoy the first day of summer.

Today, Make Music is observed on the same day in more than 750 cities around the world. It is the world’s largest annual music event.

The seven christians stood together in the bright sunlight, bound with ropes singing a hyme to their foreign saviour as the spearmen advanced. Around them a croud of jostling men, women and children, more than sixty thousand strong… cheered enthusiastically as the spears were driven home and, one by one, the men and women fell and writhed on the sandy ground, their hymn fading slowly into silence…above the still writhing bodies, on a ridge, a score of crosses stood in mute witness, carrying their ghastly burdens, some of whom still lived despite the day and a half they had hung upon the wood.
As European colonists scrambled for control of Africa, a leader arose in the red island of Madagascar who, through ruthless determination thwarted the combined ambitions of all the major world powers. That leader and the author of this holocaust was no warrior but a diminutive woman of middle years, Ranavalona-Manjaka Queen of Madagascar, know to her subjects more simply as Ma Dieu. Under Ranavalona’s despotic rule, hundreds of thousands of her people, possibly one-half of Madagascar’s entire population, were murdered, starved or simply worked to death by her express command, while she enjoyed an eccentric and debauched lifestyle. For these characteristics, European history has remembered her reign as that of the Female Caligula.

Thorvaldsens Museum opened in 1848 and is the oldest museum in Denmark. Vibrant colours, unique architecture and Victoria, the goddess of victory, characterize the building, which houses the works of the world-famous Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. A tour of the museum reveals a very special opportunity to enjoy world-class art and architecture. Located at The Castle Island (Slotsholmen) in the heart of Copenhagen the museum is very close to some of the most popular attractions of the city.